Desperation
by love-of-fire
Summary: TYL: Tsuna was pushed to the brink when he made the choice to bring himself and the Guardians to the future from the past. It was his last option. All hope was lost; these are the events that led up to that impossible choice, this is Tsuna's desperation.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I've been on KHR roll lately, I guess, and while I was in the middle of writing "MisTaken" I was attacked by this little ficlett. Like my other stories, this one will have no romance. There are too many romance stories in this genre, especially since the canon is the generic action-filled shounen. So, here is another fic about the moments before Tsuna was 'killed' right before the future arch. I know this is kind of an over-done idea, but I figured I would try my hand at it too :)

Warning/Rating: T for violence

Disclaimer: I have no rights over any characters you recognize. I'm just playing in the grand sandbox that is KHR.

Summary: Vongola's fight with the Millefiore Family has been going much worse than Tsuna and his friends thought it would. Desperate to save his Family, the Decimo creates a plan with a hidden ally that will give the Vongola one last chance at victory.

Timeline: Ends right as the future arch begins.

Title: Desperation

Katekyou Hitman Reborn!

* * *

><p>Tsunayoshi paced around his office in the underground Vongola headquarters, waiting impatiently for word from Gokudera and Yamamoto. His two Guardians were out on assignment at the moment; one that Tsuna had been hesitant to send them on in the first place. All of the Guardians, even Hibari and Mukuro, were constantly out doing things for the Family in hopes of keeping as many members alive as possible. The Millefiore turned out to be much more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Even Reborn had been surprised by the sudden appearance of the Family.<p>

"Juudaime, can you hear me Juudaime?" Gokudera's voice broke through Tsuna's deep thoughts from the black and red headphones that were attached to the Tenth Generation's ears. Instantly, the pacing stopped and a hand went up to touch the earpiece, as if to reach through the device and touch his friend.

"I hear you Gokudera-kun, how are you and Yamamoto? Is everything alright?" Gokudera did not sound hurt or distressed, but Tsuna wanted the young man's reassurance.

"We are fine- more or less. Things went better here than we thought they would, but we still lost some men. Thankfully, there were no civilian casualties. Have you heard from the Aho-Ushi or Hibari yet?" Gokudera sounded like he was walking as he spoke, Tsuna could hear other faint conversations in the background. Yamamoto sounded to be next to the Storm talking to someone else on his own earpiece.

"Good, I'm glad things went well and you guys are okay," Tsuna allowed himself to smile slightly, "Lambo checked in about an hour ago and should be back home any minute, Hibari hasn't said anything, but that is not unusual for him. Do I need to send Onii-san out to your location?" Tsuna was now walking out of his office and towards the living area. Lambo and any of his other Family that was out would come to the living room when they returned. Tsuna liked to welcome them home personally whenever he could.

"Ah, no there is no need for that annoying guy to come out here, Juudaime, we can take care of everything. Might be back a little late, or tomorrow sometime. Don't wait up, you need to get at least a few hours of sleep," the smile on Hayato's face could be heard through the headphones. Gokudera and Yamamoto were walking side by side outside the building that had become something close to a war-zone. Negotiations with a once allied Family had gone badly, but both the Rain and Storm were expecting as much and were able to subdue the attackers. Tsuna was against killing if at all possible, and had requested his Guardians to try and bring back some people they could interrogate. "We were able to capture two of their men alive, but they are not answering any of our questions. I don't know how useful they will be, but we searched them and they have no tracking devices or anything on them, so we will bring them with us when we return."

"Alright, good job Gokudera-kun. You and Yamamoto get home as soon as you can," Tsuna said as he opened the refrigerator in the room. He smirked and pulled out the desired bottle. "Did you get anything on our agenda done at all? Lambo had to escape his meeting, he was ambushed. Yeah, he is fine, lost four members though." Tsuna moved to the cabinet and placed a tall glass on the counter as he reassured Gokudera of the youngest Guardian's safety. The glass in front of the Decimo was filled to the top with grape juice.

"Well, I'm glad the Aho-Ushi is still alive. It would be troublesome to find a new Guardian at this time," Tsuna chuckled at the reply from his right-hand, and smiled as he heard the 'Maa, maa' from Yamamoto in regard to Gokudera's reasoning. "Well, we have work here to do. I will contact you later tonight and let you know when we will be back. Get some sleep and be safe, Juudaime," the last sentence was said with serious concern.

Tsuna's attention was drawn to a familiar voice coming towards him in the hallway picked up the glass, "Don't worry, Gokudera-kun, you two stay safe and look out for each other. I will talk to you later." His friend responded with a respectful, yet fond, 'Hai, Juudaime' and the transmission was ended. Tsuna sighed and turned his focus to the fifteen year old boy who was walking into the room, his clothes dirty and face scratched up. The black headed boy limped slightly but Tsuna knew that he had been through worse.

"Ah, Tsuna, I'm surprised to see you here. Thought you would be out when I got back," Lambo said with a smile.

"Yeah, my meeting was cancelled and Hibari-san volunteered to deliver a package for me," Tsuna replied and held out the glass to his Lightening, "He was saying something about not wanting to hang around when everyone was getting back, you know how he is about crowds."

Lambo laughed twice and reached for the glass, but stumbled before he could grab it. Tsuna reacted quickly and caught the teenager, putting a strong and steady hand around his shoulders. The Tenth Vongola placed the glass in Lambo's shaking hands with a sad smile.

"Thanks, Tsuna. I must have tripped on the carpet or something. You should have that checked out," Lambo muttered and sipped at the juice. Tsuna did not bother pointing out that the floors were tile and checked weekly for any cracks or dips.

"Hm, I will get that fixed quickly. Thank you for letting me know." Lambo grunted his response and continued to drink. Tsuna looked down at his friend thoughtfully. The kid was too young to be returning beat up and stumbling all over the place, and not thinking anything of it. _'And the way things are going, it's only getting worse. He might not even have a place to come back to if we don't start winning,'_ Tsuna was brought away from his thoughts when Lambo coughed a few times and tightly held the glass that still contained half of the grape juice. Concern and remorse surfaced within Tsuna and he squeezed Lambo's shoulders tighter.

"Ah, Tsuna are you okay?" Lambo asked when the pressure around him increased. He looked up at his big brother figure with bright green eyes. Tsuna was deep in thought and had a look of sadness across his face.

Instantly, the dark expression was replaced with a smile and Tsuna said, "I'm fine, Lambo. Get yourself to the doctors and relax a bit." He placed a gentle hand atop the black hair of his Italian friend and watched with pride as Lambo took a deep breath, found some stored strength and stood up straight. For a split second the pride and honor of the Vongola seemed to be represented perfectly in the child that was limping towards the medical ward, and Tsuna could not stop himself from adding, "Lambo," the boy turned, "Welcome home."

* * *

><p>"Yamamoto! Get over here!" Gokudera yelled and ignited a ring on his right hand with red flame and clicked it into a box previously hanging from his belt. He and the Rain had split up and taken to searching the different levels of the building that the fight had taken place in. They were weary of hidden attackers waiting for the right moment to strike- such tactics had been used on the Vongola recently and neither Yamamoto nor Gokudera wanted to be surprised. The Storm decided to take the top two levels while Yamamoto searched the lower two. All had been quiet until a crash caused Gokudera to notice a door in the shadows; as soon as he opened the door a blow to the head knocked him back and allowed the attacker to step from his hiding place and prepare for another strike.<p>

"I assume you have company up there as well?" Yamamoto's strained reply reached Gokudera's ears as he dodged a blade covered in purple flames. The skull arm-gun formed and the Storm Guardian loaded a stick of dynamite into the back, firing at his attacker. He saw the bomb hit its target at the same time he felt something wrap around his ankle. Hazel eyes widened as Gokudera felt his foot being jerked out from underneath him, in less than a second he was hanging upside down. Confused, he glanced up to his foot and noticed a flame covered rope wrapped tightly around his ankle and attached to the ceiling of the room. Grunting, Gokudera turned his focus to the enemy and readied his weapon for another shot.

Yamamoto's eyes shot upwards in concern when the only reply to his cry was an explosion. He had found his hidden attacker easily and was about to deliver the finishing blow when Gokudera called for help. The Storm was more injured than he was, but they had both agreed to call for backup if either of them found anything. The second that Yamamoto was distracted, his opponent fought back with some box weapon that the Rain did not care to take notice of. _'If we could only still use the Vongola boxes… Ah, I can't begin to think that way- Tsuna made the right choice in destroying the rings. We will just have to get stronger,'_ Yamamoto thought and he parried attacks as he advanced on the man. Growing tired of the fight, and worried about his friend, Yamamoto ended the battle quickly with a twist of his wrist and shoved his blade into the middle of his attacker. Wincing, the Rain pulled his blade free and hurried up two flights of stairs.

Gokudera was kneeling over something muttering curses in both Japanese and Italian but turned his head slightly as Yamamoto entered the room. "Took you long enough, Baseball-Freak, it's a good thing I didn't actually need your help," the comment from the silver haired man held no bitterness, only exhaustion from recent events. Neither of them had gotten any real sleep in over three days. As Gokudera stood slowly, Yamamoto glanced beyond his partner and noticed a bound figure lying limply on the floor.

"Eh? You keeping him as a pet, Gokudera?" Yamamoto questioned with a smirk, pointing out the fact that the man was still alive.

"Humph, Juudaime wants as many of them kept alive as possible. He is still too kind," the strained response came and the Storm nudged the heap of person less than gently with his foot. "Might as well drag this lump along with us, maybe he can provide some info on these secret attackers that we have been finding lately."

Yamamoto nodded silently and took a quick look at his friend. Gokudera was breathing heavier than normal and seemed to favor his left leg. Blood dripped down the side of his face, but it looked to come from a small cut on his forehead- nothing to worry too much about. "Well, my guy might still have some life in him, but he won't for much longer. Let's just get out of here and find someplace to crash. I doubt we can make it back home tonight," the Rain said in an easy going tone and walked over to the still lump on the ground. Bending over, the taller of the two picked up their new captive and hauled him over his shoulder, his other hand carrying his blade.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go. Think we can find some food around here? I'm starving and freaking tired of these stupid energy bars you brought. There is no way those things are considered an entire meal!" Gokudera shot a glare at Yamamoto and walked towards the staircase. His right shoulder was burning and a gash going down his right leg made standing more than painful. The sooner he could find a bed to lie down in, the better.

"Maa, maa, at least we have some food! Those were made especially for when were out on assignment and might not be able to get a whole meal," the calm man replied and followed the other. He took note of Gokudera's obvious limp and purposefully walked closer behind his friend in case he fell. The assistance was not needed and the two of them were outside in minutes. As soon as they were spotted by another member of their Family, men came rushing towards them, voicing concern. The Rain assured them that they would be fine and handed over the dead-weight that was feeling heavier and heavier by the moment. He requested a first aid kit and for a tent to be set up for himself and Gokudera. Said Storm added something about real food and an order for the remaining men to get some rest- they would be heading home at first light tomorrow.

In the tent, two futons were rolled out and a box of medical supplies was set on top of one of the beds. One of the sun-flame wielding men offered to heal their wounds, but both Guardians insisted that the other wounded be taken care of first.

"You need help with that?" Yamamoto asked off-handedly after catching a look at the gash on Gokudera's leg. A scoff sounded from the other, and Yamamoto felt himself chuckle. "Of course not, just asking, no need to growl."

"I could ask you the same question, Sports-Nut, and I don't growl! You are worse than that Aho-Ushi sometimes," Gokudera responded, his voice laced with pain as he poured disinfectant over his long wound. He figured he would wrap it up for now and have that loud Turf-Head make himself useful when they returned to the base.

Yamamoto laughed and carefully peeled off his ripped up shirt. His black suit jacket was already on the ground, discarded as soon as they had entered the tent. Bruises already littered his tanned chest and the young Mafiosi was pretty sure three ribs were cracked. His shoulder was raging against its harsh treatment- it needed to be popped back into place quickly. Knowing he did not have to strength to properly do it himself, Yamamoto looked back over to Gokudera. "Ah, I hate to trouble you, but would you mind doing me a favor, Gokudera?"

The man in question looked up from his task and raised an eyebrow. After a few seconds of observation, the bomber glared at his friend. "Aho! How long has it been like that? You know you could lose your arm if it stays popped out too long, you trying to copy that weirdo Squalo or something?" Gokudera chastised the swordsman but was on his feet and next to Yamamoto before he finished talking.

"It's fine, hurt it yesterday afternoon but it only got like this when our negotiations fell apart." Yamamoto's face was turning pale as Gokudera positioned himself over the now lying down Rain.

"That was over an hour ago, you fool," The Storm Guardian licked his lips nervously and slowly lowered himself, sweat breaking out from the strain on his leg wound. He could feel the blood traveling down his leg and soaking into his already saturated sock. Without missing a beat, he continued, "Just be prepared for a lecture when we get back, you know how Juudaime gets when he learns what our definition of 'just fine' is," with that pause, Gokudera slid the joint on his friend back into place and winced at the sickening click that came along with it. Yamamoto's strangled cry did not surprise the Storm, and Gokudera rested a careful hand on the injured shoulder. After the Rain's breath was semi-normal, Gokudera stood and squeezed his eyes shut as the world around him spun. Exhaling, he slowly moved back to his bed and sat down, giving himself time to readjust to the change.

Silence covered the tent while the two fighters self-evaluated and wondered if it would be okay to just fall asleep right then and worry about wounds and such in the morning. The silence was broken when Yamamoto muttered a 'sankyuu' and Gokudera gave a grunt in response. With the trance lifted, they both got back to tending to what injuries they could. Seeming to suddenly remember something, Gokudera brought a quick hand to his ear and activated his earpiece. The swords master knew that Tsuna would not miss the roughness in his Guardian's voice as Gokudera contacted the Vongola Decimo and gave a watered-down report of their injuries and the results of the day's work. The conversation was short, Tsuna wanted them to get sleep and head back as soon as possible- they were missed at home. When Yamamoto heard 'Hai, Juudaime,' he leaned back down on his bad and closed his eyes. Darkness had never before felt so good.

A/N: So, at first this was going to be a quick one-shot, but I noticed that was not going to work out when I was not even half way done and the word count was nearing 5,000. Therefore- I present to you the first chapter of "Desperation". The second should be up in the next few days, I have a good chunk of it done already. Thanks for reading, please, PLEASE tell me how I did. I hope everyone is in character!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Welcome to chapter two, I hope you enjoyed its predecessor. Thank you to **Reidluver, Sherry Leblanc,** and** MysticMaiden 18** for reviewing! Have a nice read!

* * *

><p>In all honesty, Tsuna really did try to sleep for a decent amount of time, but despite his best efforts the future Vongola boss could not stay in the land of dreams for more than four hours. The past two weeks had been hellish ones in the lives of the Vongola Family, especially the lives of Tsuna and his Guardians. Not only were they constantly in little fights that always turned out to be more trouble than they were worth, but Yamamoto's father was killed when Byakuran sent some of his 'friends' to look for information on the Rain, and Reborn…<p>

Tsuna sat up in his bed and hid his face in the palms of his hands. He was not going to think about the losses they had suffered, not while two of his Guardians were still not home. Hibari had checked in late last night before disappearing off to his own section of the headquarters, speaking less than twenty words in the process.

With a sigh, Tsuna stood up and made his way towards the living room where he had met Lambo earlier that day. Someone else in the base must have been having trouble sleeping because lights from the room lit the edge of the hallway. He wondered briefly who else would be up so early, but when he saw who it was he was not surprised.

"Ah, good morning Bianchi. Starting the day early, are we?" Tsuna said with a kind smile to the Italian girl sitting on the couch in her night clothes with goggles on her face. She had taken to wearing the eye ware around her neck even when her little brother was not around. Even though Gokudera was going on twenty-five in September, he still had not been able to get over his inability to look at his sister without becoming extremely ill.

"Hm, good morning Decimo," the Italian word rolled off Bianchi's lips in a way that was unique to her and her brother's upbringing. She turned after a pause and looked at Tsuna, dropping her ever-present shields for a few seconds. It was long enough, though, for the Sky to understand why she was awake.

"Would you like some tea, Bianchi? I have recently found that simple green tea in the morning is one of the best ways to relax when your life is anything but simple," Tsuna said with a smile in his voice. Being around Yamamoto so much had taught him a thing or two about comforting people when they needed it.

"That would be nice, Tsuna, thank you. I assume our reasons for being awake are very similar," she replied and shifted her position so that her legs joined the rest of her on the couch. Her arms wrapped around her shins, and her chin rested on her bent knees. "I still can't help but worry about him, even though he insists that he can take care of himself and that he should be the one worrying."

Tsuna chuckled and began the process of making the tea for two, "Yes that does sound like Gokudera-kun. He and Yamamoto checked in about six hours ago. He thinks that I can't tell when he is more messed up than he tells me, and of course he was more concerned about me than him," Tsuna's voice trailed off and after a glance at the man in question's sister, he decided not to finish his thought out loud.

"But, he and Yamamoto are a very good team. I suppose the Rain and would go along well with the Storm." Another chuckle and Tsuna carefully brought two cups of tea to the table in front of the couch. One cup he sat down, the other he held securely between his two hands. A few minutes passed where the only noise was the sipping of their drinks. Tsuna broke the silence, "They should be returning pretty soon now. I think the closest entrance to their location would be the North."

Bianchi glanced up and smiled, "I'm not so desperate, I will keep you company until the boys get back though."

"I would like that very much, thank you." Tsuna moved a few feet and lowered himself down into a chair not far from the couch. Bianchi was much like her brother- Tsuna could sit in a room with either of them in silence and not feel strange, or like he needed to fill the air with shallow words. His other Guardians had their own ways of making small talk but Gokudera was one with whom he could just sit in silence.

The two sat together, having on and off conversations, for almost two hours before they heard a very familiar sound.

"I cannot believe I spent five whole days with you and your useless self! Never again am I going on an assignment with just you, we were supposed to be back an hour ago!" Gokudera's annoyed voice echoed through the halls, Yamamoto's care-free laughter followed soon after.

"Maa, maa, don't be like that Hayato! We make a great team, and if you were so worried about making it back on time, you should have taken lead."

"I never gave you permission to use my first name! And I thought you could handle getting us back home without getting lost." The voices got closer and louder at a pace slower than normal, but after a few seconds, the two stepped through the doorway. Yamamoto had one arm across his chest in a make-shift sling, and the other hand was securing Gokudera's arm that was wrapped across his shoulders. Gokudera was leaning heavily on his friend and both of them were sweating and breathing much harder than they should have been. Gokudera was too busy glaring at Yamamoto to notice the other two people in the room they had entered.

"Yo Tsuna, Bianchi, what are you two doing awake?" Yamamoto said happily and let go of Gokudera's arm for a moment to give a wave. The Storm Guardian clutched at his crutch's shoulder before he could tip over from the lack of support.

"Aho! Don't let go without- Ah! Juudaime, Aneki, I didn't see you there! I hope you guys didn't stay up all night waiting. I told you to get some sleep," Gokudera said enthusiastically, but at the same time as if he were scolding a child.

Tsuna and Bianchi both stood when the boys entered the room. As soon as his friends were in sight, Tsuna was taking inventory of their conditions. Worry coursed through him when he noticed that neither of them looked very steady. "Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto, you two look awful. I thought you said that you were fine!" The accusation was aimed at his Right Hand.

Gokudera seemed to falter, "A-Ah, Juudaime, it's not as bad as it looks, we will be fine in no time! Besides, you don't need any added worries than you already have." The silver headed man pulled away from Yamamoto and forced himself to stand up straight and take a step towards his boss. His hazel eyes showed exhaustion, pain, and the constant gleam of loyalty that Tsuna could always find in his friend.

Sighing, Tsuna set his glass down and moved next to his Guardians. Bianchi was right behind him. "Just, just get to the medical room, I will go wake up Ryohei," Tsuna's face relaxed into a smile as he looked from his Storm to his Rain. The three nodded once to each other before the Sky turned, "Bianchi, help these two to the medical ward, I doubt either one of them could make it there by themselves."

"Of course, Tsuna. I will assist in the care of your two idiot Guardians," the woman moved in-between the two younger men and jerked her brother's arm around her shoulders.

"Aneki! I don't need your help, I can walk just fine. Go get back in bed, those dark bags under your eyes make you look old…er," Gokudera muttered and received a poke in the ribs from Bianchi's elbow. "You crazy woman! Can't you see I'm hurt, don't jab me with your bony arm!"

"Maa, maa Hayato, your sister is just trying to help," Yamamoto added and followed the two as they headed at a very slow speed to the medical rooms. More complaints from Gokudera followed, and the last thing Tsuna heard before running to Ryohei's room was his Rain- laughing quietly in an attempt to make things clean, and his Storm- raging on even in the midst the hurt and pain.

* * *

><p>Three days past since the Storm and Rain returned barley able to stand, and the only indication that they had ever been injured were the new scars that they added to their bodies. They displayed their rejuvenation through multiple verbal and physical fights, nearly all of them beginning with a growled 'yakyu-baka' and ending with care-free laughter and 'Maa, maa Hayato!'.<p>

The battle with the Millefiore was going very badly, and the amount of stress that Tsuna felt piling up on his shoulders was growing with every passing day. He knew that something had to be done if his Family was going to survive. Ideas had been floating around in the Decimo's head that he wished would vacate his mind.

Tsuna found himself once again pacing his office. He had isolated himself from his friends the entire day in hopes that solitude would provide to him an alternative solution to what he was currently seeing as his only way to survive. Since becoming the official head of the Vongola Family, there were not many things that Tsuna truly regretted. He would forever wish that all of his Guardians and friends could live a life free from the dangers of the Mafia. But there was nothing that he could do to prevent that, and he figured that as long as they were all together, they could stay safe.

"If only we had the Vongola Rings…" The brown headed boss muttered and reached to touch where the ring in question used to sit on his hand. He heard footsteps stop outside his door right before it was opened and a blacked headed man stepped in. "You are late. Something go wrong?" Tsuna asked before he turned to face his guest.

"Hmph, what a stupid question. Everything is wrong, but I have the information you want." Hibari Kyouya paused before he took a step towards Tsuna. He pulled a brown package from under his coat and held it out for his official leader to take. "Irie is certain that his cover is secure, and assures me that he is ready to go when you are."

With a sigh, Tsuna took the offered package and looked at his Cloud before moving to sit at his desk. Carefully, he unwrapped the package to find a paper and a map. Beneath the papers were two watches, both black and of very high quality- fit to be worn by a Mafia boss and his men. "They are set to match Irie's exactly. The next notice he sends to me will give explicit details of the when and where." The Sky paused and turned his gaze from the papers to his Guardian.

Hibari sighed and moved to lean against the door frame. "You are making the right choice. The only choice, really," his words were meant to give some comfort to the younger man, but he noticed that there was something more to the Decimo's worries. "They will understand, herbivore, they always do."

Tsuna picked up the watch with an 'X' inscribed on the band and tossed the other to Hibari. The man caught the item easily and looked it over. "I will have my reply ready tomorrow morning, same time as last time. His answer will be the final run. All this is coming upon us too fast…" Tsuna said the last words quietly, but was sure that Hibari had heard him. "I've been trying to think of some other way to fix this- there has to be another answer we aren't seeing." The Guardian did not respond for a while, and after he did, he turned and exited the room.

"It's time to stop thinking like the kids we once were, and start thinking like the Mafia members we have become. The choices you have to make are not always going to be easy or fun. And sometimes, you are going to have to chose between the lesser of two evils, and then live with that choice. But know this, brat, these people around you, your Guardians, they will always stay by your side. No matter what," Hibari concluded his unusual monologue and silently left, leaving Tsuna alone to think over what the Cloud said.

"I hope you are right, but after all this is over, I am just hoping that I will still have Family left to be worried about."

* * *

><p>Yamamoto walked into the kitchen after training with Ryohei for the past two and a half hours. The Sun had insisted that they take a break sooner than normally because of the Rain's recent injuries. Despite the protesting that Takeshi tried, Ryohei created an excuse to leave early, knowing that Yamamoto would follow soon after. So, having nothing better to do, the Rain found himself in the kitchen looking for something cool to drink.<p>

"Yo, Gokudera, Lambo, what are you guys up to?" The swordsman smiled and greeted his friends while heading towards the fridge. The Storm was sitting at one of the tables holding a glass of something iced. Lambo was standing next to the stove watching a pot full of water with great vigor.

"Hey, Yamamoto. You wimp out of training early today? I thought you said that your shoulder was fine," Gokudera jabbed but Takeshi did not miss the flash of concern that crossed the hazel-green eyes. Yamamoto chuckled and poured himself a half-full glass of milk. Neither Gokudera nor Lambo missed the fact that their friend's smile did not reach his usually care-free eyes.

"I'm fine, promise. Senpai had other things to do, so I decided to take a break as well. What are you two doing here? I thought that you had studying to do, Lambo," Yamamoto answered and redirected the question back to his friends. Regardless of Lambo's status as a Guardian, Tsuna had insisted that he be educated as best as he could- which often left Gokudera to tutor him. Such an occurrence would occasionally involve other members of the family having to intervene when situations became overly violent.

"I was given the day off by my aho-sensei over there. Apparently, he and Tsuna have some meeting to go to," the black haired Italian boy snuck a glance towards his silver headed counterpart. Gokudera was trying to hide a growing twitch in his right eye and, Yamamoto assumed, resisting the urge to throw the cup in his hand at the teenager.

"A meeting? I did not hear that something was going on, who else is going with you?" Yamamoto ruffled Lambo's hair before joining Gokudera at the table. His voice hinted at concern, but kept its normal casual tone. Hayato quickly flashed his temporary student a vulgar hand gesture before turning to the Rain.

"Yeah, it came up earlier today. Should be nothing to worry about, so just he and I are going. An allied Family needs Juudaime's advice over some matter. I looked into them, they have always been loyal to the Vongola since before the Nono's time." The Storm said and took a sip from his glass. Yamamoto noticed the haggard look about Gokudera and briefly wondered how much sleep he had been getting. Tsuna was worse off than his right hand man, and the two of them going off together with no back-up worried the usually calm man.

"Let me come with you guys. Even if it's nothing, it never hurts to have some extra protection." Yamamoto hoped that Gokudera would agree to the proposal, but had a feeling that it would take some convincing. Normally, Takeshi would be assured that if Gokudera claimed it to be safe for Tsuna to attend, there would be no threat of danger. But recently, nothing they did seemed safe. Every time any of them left on Vongola business, something came up.

Hayato did not respond right away, and looked to be considering the option. "I really don't think it's necessary. Juudaime was going to go without bringing me along, but I talked him into letting me come. The place we are going to is less than thirty minutes away, and I sent men over already to secure the area," Gokudera was explaining when Tsuna appeared.

"Sorry I'm late, Gokudera-kun. I got a call from Dino," the Decimo reasoned. He was pulling his cloak around him as he spoke and sent a kind smile to the other two in the room when he noticed them. "Yamamoto, Lambo, it's good to see you two." Lambo returned the expression happily and asked Tsuna if he wanted any of whatever he was cooking. The Sky declined politely and moved to stand next to where his Rain sat.

"Tsuna, why don't I come with you and Gokudera to this meeting? Or at least bring another Guardian with you," Yamamoto requested and looked up to his boss. Like Hayato, Tsuna thought about the offer for a second before answering.

"I don't feel it necessary. These are good people we are going to meet; they wouldn't do anything to hurt me. Besides, I want you to have one more day to fully recover. I have something I want you to do for me starting tomorrow." Tsuna placed a strong hand on Yamamoto's shoulder and gave his best reassuring smile.

With a sigh, Takeshi accepted the fact that Tsuna had made up his mind and stood. Gokudera mimicked the motion. The three looked from one to the other in silence for a few seconds before verbalizing their partings and instructions to keep safe. Yamamoto wished them luck on their journey and Tsuna told him to contact either himself or Gokudera if something came up. After saying goodbye to Lambo, both the Vongola Decimo and his right hand man left the room and headed towards a waiting car.

Yamamoto sighed and sat back down when they had gone. Something about Tsuna was bothering him. He tried to pay close attention to the changes in his friend, but could not find a reason for the feeling he had. Takeshi trusted his leader with every fiber of his being, and knew that Tsuna always made the choice he thought was best for his friends, but a small nagging in the back of his mind would not leave him alone. Yamamoto just hoped that he figured out what was going on before it was too late to fix.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, I hope that this chapter was not too boring. It did not turn out as good as I had wanted it to, but I felt like I needed to lay the foundation for the upcoming action and drama. Thanks for reading, don't forget to review!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Welcome to chapter the third! Thank you so much to **Sherry Leblanc **and **BeaneaththeRose **for reviewing chapter two, forgive me- this one took a little longer to write. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>The car ride from Vongola headquarters to the location where the meeting would take place was quiet as both Decimo and right-hand-man distracted themselves in their own ways. Tsuna seemed content to simply look out the window at the scenery passing by. Gokudera read quickly glanced over a file of papers containing various information they might need during their meeting. Both of them looked as though they could fall asleep at any second, and if a conversation did not happen soon, Tsuna feared that he would indeed drift into a dream.<p>

Gokudera felt his eyes dart over to his friend and noticed the look about his face. Having seen that expression many times before, the Storm made a point to clear his throat before speaking. "Is something wrong, Juudaime? You should have just sent me on this mission, you look like you haven't slept in days," Hayato did not make a habit out of telling his boss what she should or should not do, but the man next to him looked absolutely beat.

A smile crossed Tsuna's face and he turned from his window to his friend, "Don't worry Gokudera-kun, I'm fine. We should be getting there pretty soon, ne? Let me see those papers that you brought." The Decimo noticed Gokudera's brief flash of concern across his eyes as his right hand passed the folder with a nod. Gokudera knew something was different with him, but Tsuna was just doing his best to ignore that fact.

"We probably won't need half the information that is in there, but most of it is about the Family we are meeting with. The Corvello Family has been fairly tight allies with the Vongola since before the Nono's time so we shouldn't have anything to worry about," The Storm paused, taking in his boss's reaction, "But just in case, I have sent a group of men ahead of us to scope out the building. The last report I got from them was right before I met you in the kitchen, and everything seemed fine." The fact that he had not heard from his squad since then slightly worried Gokudera, but he was sure that he could handle anything that came up once they arrived.

The Sky nodded once and returned his attention to the papers in his hand. Most of the information was about the history of the Corvello Family and Vongola's relationship with them. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but Tsuna's intuition nagged at the back of his mind. Over the years, he had learned to listen closely to his hyper-sensitive feelings and such actions had served him well. Ever since he finally accepted that he would in fact be the Vongola Decimo, Tsuna had to admit that he could feel the growth mentally and physically that his occupation encouraged.

"I trust you Gokudera-kun, when we get there we can scope out the building for ourselves just to make sure it's safe," the brunette learned long ago that it was simply easiest to go along with his best friend's over-protective antics. _'Though, I hate to admit that recently Gokudera-kun's tendencies have actually become extremely helpful.'_

Hayato appeared to glow a little bit at Tsuna's praise and with quick and fluid Italian asked the driver for a destination time. The Decimo felt himself smile slightly as he watched his right hand. The silver-headed man oozed loyalty from every pore when he was around Tsuna, and the Mafia don had grown to appreciate that characteristic about him. It amazed Tsuna how easy it was to please Hayato; but that comforting feeling rushed away faster than it had appeared as a bump in the road caused the black watch that Tsuna wore to remind its owner of its existence.

_'This is going to kill him,'_ Tsuna thought painfully as he glanced at Gokudera, _'It will hurt all of them so badly. They have so much trust in me that it is sickening. And I'm going to take that trust and smash it to pieces so small, even Gokudera-kun's persistence will not be able to put it back together.'_ The thoughts plagued the Tenth Generation Boss, and beside him, Hayato was about to speak when the car came to a stop.

Confusion swept over the Storm's face, causing the emotion to spread to the Sky as well. "What is going on, you said we had a good ten minutes before we reached the building," Gokudera's voice was edgy and left no room for excuses.

"Forgive me, Singnore Gokudera," the driver replied in Hayato's mother tongue, "But I'm afraid that something is wrong with the car. I checked it over completely before we left and all seemed to be in order, but now it is saying that we have run out of gas." Tsuna heard a muttered curse slip from his friend's lips as the Storm pushed the door open and stepped out. They looked to be a good ways off from civilization- on a road surrounded by trees and vegetation, which struck the Guardian as strange.

"Oi, just what road were you taking us on? We are in the middle of nowhere!" Hayato instantly began to demean himself mentally for not paying better attention to where they were. He did not know the exact location of the meeting place, but from the research he had done, he knew that the situation they were in was very wrong. The driver was walking around the car, looking quite unsure of what was going on, and with a sigh Gokudera leaned into the car through the still open door.

"Ah, Juudaime, just stay put right here until we get this figured out, I'm sure its noth-" the reassuring smile of the Storm was suddenly overtaken by an expression of pain mixed with surprise. "Juudaime, stay in the car!" Gokudera yelled before slamming the door shut and grabbing hold of his now burning shoulder. Thick red liquid dripped from the spaces in between his fingers onto the dirt-covered ground. Within seconds, one of the many rings on the Storm's fingers was ablaze and clicked into a box produced from his belt.

_'If only I had finished the Sistema was completed...'_ the Guardian thought as a circular shield made from bone-looking pieces hovered in front of its wielder. _'Hopefully just this will be enough.'_ Expecting another attack, a second box was opened and Gokudera's faithful arm-gun appeared. Lifting his wounded limb to take aim was painful, but the thought of an attacker hurting Tsuna dominated the feeling.

"Gokudera-kun, what is going on?" Tsuna was instantly out of the car as gunshots sounded through the air. His flame blazing as he joined Gokudera behind the Storm shield, Tsunayoshi's eyes were drawn to his injured friend. "Are you alright?" His voice was serious and concerned. Bullets bounced off the defensive box weapon and whizzed past the two Vongola members.

"I'm fine. I guess our meeting is going to need to be rescheduled," Hayato muttered with a forced smirk. When Tsuna's eyes widened slightly and he managed to dodge a bullet that would have grazed his face, the Storm snarled and plugged two different rings into two other boxes at his side. In a flash, the weapons were released. Three circular disks flew forward in the direction that many of the bullets were coming from.

Tsuna nodded at his Guardian's response and wasted no time in flying into the trees in search of the attackers. Roughly thirty seconds after the two went on the attack, the gunfire stopped. Tsuna returned carrying two tied up men just as the disks that Gokudera had sent out returned to him, enclosing three others. The Sky let his two captives drop to the ground while Hayato kept his prisoners within his disks.

"Tch, I can't believe that these idiots got a shot on me. What Family are you from?" Gokudera scowled and kicked the bone-looking edges of the cage. Tsuna still had his flames activated and was silent while his Storm questioned the three. Grumbled curses streamed from the men before an intelligent answered could be made out.

"We had no choice! Not all of us are from big Families, and we have to line ourselves up with whoever has the biggest guns. Byakuran-sama promises us security, and he looks to be able to deliver on that. From here on, the Corvello Family fights with the Millefiore. The Vongola will fall," one of the men spat, causing Gokudera to send another kick.

"Don't underestimate the Vongola, Aho. An attack like this is nothing, you are lucky that even one of your shots hit." The Storm glared at his captives intently and clutched at his still-bleeding wound tighter. The burning was beginning to increase, fueling the flame of Hayato's annoyance.

Tsuna spoke up when he saw his friend grip his shoulder. "I am truly sorry that you have made such a choice, and normally I would be willing to discuss this with your boss, but not anymore. My friend was hurt because of your cowardly approach to this situation; the Vongola cuts all ties to the Corvello Family. I suggest you do the same with Byakuran. He will only bring you sorrow." With that said, Tsuna quickly tapped the two tied up at the back of their necks, causing them to drop unconscious. At his signal, Tsuna watched as Gokudera deactivated the cage and the Sky repeated the procedure on the last three.

Assured that there would be no more surprises, the Decimo sighed as his flames disappeared and concern flooded his brown eyes. "Gokudera-kun, get back in the car, we need to get you back home," his voice left no room for protest and the don urged the taller man to the black vehicle. The driver had taken refuge on the floor of the front seat and expressed his great joy at his two passengers continued life.

As the adrenaline from the fight started to fade, Hayato had to hold back a groan as he moved to get in the car. "Ah, I think that this bullet was coated with something," Gokudera muttered and leaned his head back against the headrest. Tsuna quickly gave the driver orders to return home as fast as possible, then put a hand to his ear.

"Yamamoto, can you hear me? Please have Onii-san ready when we return, and see if you can find Shamal while you are at it," Tsuna's voice was soft as the car started and rushed to turn around, pulling a strained hiss from the injured party in the back seat.

"Juudaime, don't bother with that perverted doctor. He only treats girls, and I've got all the wrong parts for that to happen," Gokudera said in his best attempt to sound relaxed. His vision was starting to blur and a headache was pounding at the edge of his mind. The backseat resonated with Tsuna's chuckle as the Tenth put a light hand to his friend's forehead.

_'He's got a fever for sure, and the wound is still bleeding,'_ moving out of his suit coat, Tsuna pressed the expensive fabric against the Storm's weeping shoulder, muttering a string of apologies when the silver-headed man shifted and let a curse slip.

* * *

><p>Yamamoto stood anxiously at the entrance that Tsuna and Gokudera would be walking through very soon. Ryohei paced the floor next to him. Tsuna had not given either of them much information about what was wrong, but since his boss had requested a healer instead of a priest, the Rain figured the situation could be a lot worse. Ryohei was about to speak when voices echoed down the hall.<p>

"Juudaime," Gokudera's unmistakable title sounded, "Did you know that there are people in this base that think you are in love with me? I've heard them talking, and with your permission I would gladly get rid of such traitorous beings. I wouldn't want rumors like that tainting your image." Yamamoto wanted to laugh out loud at the tone of his friend's voice. He had heard and seen Gokudera drunk more than once before, and the way the Storm was sounding now was very similar to when he was intoxicated.

"G-Gokudera-kun, I don't think that would be a good idea. I also think you should stop talking before you embarrass yourself even more than you already have. That driver now knows more about your personal life than most people would ever care to know," Tsuna's voice followed right after, also sounding like he wanted to burst out into laughter. Seconds later the pair came into view.

At first, Takeshi was alarmed at the sight of the blood running down Gokudera's arm and dripping off his pale finger. Tsuna's jacket was bunched up and pressed firmly against the wounded man's shoulder, and the shorter of the two was helping the taller move along the hallway. The concern lessened, though, as Yamamoto took in the expression on Hayato's face.

"Tsuna, did you get him drunk on the way back? I'm not sure if that is a medically sound treatment," Yamamoto hurried over to the two and moved to take his boss's place as a crutch. The two Guardians were much closer in height than the Sky was to the Storm.

"Eh? No, he just started spouting off random stuff about ten minutes into the ride back. At first, I thought he was going into shock, he has a really high fever and he said something about the bullet being coated in something, but suddenly, I couldn't get him to shut up." Tsuna sounded a mixture of worried and amused as he explained.

"That tako-head is extremely high on something. Shamal is waiting in the medical ward, and I extremely don't want to do anything without him looking at the wound first," Ryohei said, looking nothing short of completely serious. Tsuna tried to hide a smirk at the Sun's comment, but the man in question had quite a different reaction.

"Oi! Watch what you say, turf-top, I haven't done any type of drug since I came to Japan. Except for smokes, but I don't think those really count," Gokudera's loopy response came with a drastic hand gesture that Tsuna would have protested were the girls around.

The group somehow managed to haul the Storm's drugged but body to the medical ward where Dr. Shamal was indeed waiting. The good doctor was not the only person in the room, and when Hayato noticed who else was there; he took a shaky step forward on his own.

"Hey, you perverted doctor, get away from my sister. She doesn't like you and if you keep trying to kiss her I will shove my dynamite up your-" the threat failed to be completed as the speaker fell to the ground before his friends were able to catch him. Bianchi, shocked by what had just come out of her brother's mouth, paused before rushing to his side.

"Hayato, what is wrong with you?" Her bright green gaze went straight to Tsuna, and demanded answers. The brown headed boy gave a quick summary of what happened, for both Bianchi and Shamal, and knelt down next to his Storm. Together, the Poison Scorpion and Decimo got Hayato to his feet. Shamal seemed to ignore the outburst all together and approached the man.

"Usually, I don't treat men because they are so loud and rude like this one here, but I am slightly interested as to what has caused the brat to be so candid," the promiscuous man declared and hauled Gokudera to a waiting bed. The Guardian landed with a grunt, and his hand instantly went to his shoulder. After taking the temperature and a few other statistics from the injured adult, Shamal looked back at the others in the room.

"Well, if any of you has a question for Hayato that you want a completely honest answer to, I suggest you ask within the next hour. The bullet must have been dipped in a very concentrated truth serum used for interrogations. Anything he says will be exactly what he thinks and believes- in this state, Hayato cannot tell a lie," Shamal said, and gave a smirk back towards his patient. "Not only that, but he will have the intense desire to randomly spew truths out when ever they come into his head. It really is not the concoction that I would use..."

All eyes in the room went from Gokudera to Tsuna, as if to ask what they were going to do with this unusual situation. "Shamal, do you not have an antidote for this? I would like to be able to help Gokudera-kun salvage at least some of his dignity."

"The only thing my antidote will do is stop the poison from spreading. He will still be infected for about an hour, and we can't let him leave the base until we are absolutely sure he is back to normal," Shamal replied as he sent one of his insects towards Hayato. A heavy silence hovered over the room, and Shamal looked as though he had something to say but did not know the right way to go about saying it. Luckily for the doctor, Gokudera voiced a drug-induced concern.

"Juudaime, for some reason my brain is still all fuzzy and I'm not sure if I have understood everything properly, but something about all this worries me. The Corvello Family surly knew how strong the Vongola is. And the fact that they had this drug ready must mean that they wanted information from one of us, so why did they send such weak guys out to meet us? I mean there was no way that we were going to lose to those guys. The aho-ushi could have taken care of them easily." A grim smirk crossed Shamal's face as he listened to his former student.

"I agree with Gokudera. What was the point of poisoning the bullet with this type of drug? If they were going to modify the weapon, why not use a lethal toxin that would assure a kill. And they hit Gokudera's shoulder. That is not a kill shot by any means, and they had to assume that the injured person would be brought back to headquarters as soon as possible," Yamamoto added, looking unnaturally thoughtful.

Tsuna silently listened to his friend's thoughts and tried to come up with a solution that was less painful than the one in his mind. Quiet once again covered the room and all eyes were glued to the Sky, waiting for his decision. Finally, after working through his thoughts, Tsuna sighed and sadly looked at the people in the room.

"I don't want to admit it, but I think the only solution to this question is that somewhere among our Family, there is a spy working for either Byakuran or the Corvello Family. We need to get Gokudera-kun locked up in a room someplace safe before the spy finds him and get whatever information he wants."

* * *

><p>AN: This chapter was supposed to be published a lot sooner, but I started working again this week so time was suddenly non-existent in my life. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this and were surprised by the turn of events. Still not sure how long this story is going to be...


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This is way over due- sorry! And, to make it worse, I have taken forever to update MisTaken even though it was started before Desperation. Thank you so much for all the reviews even though I am taking so long with the updates! Here is your Christmas present from me, look for a new chapter of Mistaken to be up sometime tomorrow~!

**Purble**- Thank you so much for your review! I am glad that you have enjoyed the fic, and I hope that I can continue to make the story interesting and unique! My main goal in writing any fanfiction is to keep the characters as in character as possible, so I am pleased that you think they are so. Ah, Hibari is a hard character for me to write personally, because I cannot really get his personality down quite right so his and Tsuna's relationship might not be exactly perfect . Anyways, thanks again for the review!

**Bleach-ed-Na-tsu-** Sorry for replying to you in this way, but for some reason when I tried to respond via private messaging, the reply failed to send . Thank you for reading and reviewing! It is good to know that you are understanding what I am attempting to put out- it is a concern of mine that my writing is not coming across in the way that I want it to. I hope that I can explain things a little better in the future. I am reluctant to go into too much detail because I don't want it to become overly wordy. Sorry this took so long to come out, please enjoy!

"**Me"-** Thank you for the encouragement! I hope that I can continue to create something that is enjoyable to read. Check out the KHR stories on my favorites list too, they are great!

Here is the forth chapter- enjoy!

* * *

><p>Yamamoto could not decide between laughter or concern as he escorted his intoxicated friend to a secured room. They all agreed that the Storm should be moved to an area that only the Guardians could enter, and that only the Guardians be told about the situation. The enclosure that Gokudera would be staying in for the rest of the night was in a level below the basement. It contained only a bed and bathroom and was designed to protect anything within it from outside forces. Yamamoto deposited his fellow Guardian onto the bed with a sigh.<p>

Gokudera began complaining about blurry vision and spinning hallways on the trip to the safe room, and half-way to their destination, the Rain found himself practically dragging a mumbling Storm off the elevator. On their trip down Hayato had gone on about how, despite anything he had said previously, he actually enjoyed going to watch the few professional baseball games that Takeshi had played in.

As he was slumped against the large headboard, Gokudera forced glazed-over green eyes to meet the dark ones of his friend. Yamamoto tried to hide a wince at the drug-induced state the Storm was in; but despite the intoxication that afflicted him, Hayato noticed the Rain's motion. Sluggishly moving to sit up a bit more, Gokudera's slightly slurred words broke the silence of the room.

"Oi, yakyuu-baka what is that pathetic look you are wearing? Don't hang around me showing such expressions, I have enough of my own for the both of us," Hayato's voice did not sound all that accusatory- rather, Yamamoto heard a note of self-blame in the last few words. Takeshi's stiff laughter lingered in the air before Gokudera found it acceptable to continue. "I still don't really know what is going on. Obviously I was drugged somehow because, every time I try to think properly my mind goes blank and this pounding in my head gets louder, and for some reason its like I can't control what I keep inside my head and what my mouth says."

Yamamoto turned to face his friend. The Rain could still not get over how open Hayato was, and the muddled explanation of the Storm's mental condition surprised Takeshi. The former athlete had never personally experienced the effects of a truth-serum, and from the looks of Gokudera's condition, he counted himself fortunate. "Well, that explains some of the stuff I have heard the past half hour," Yamamoto said with a smile. His expression faltered when a sigh sounded from beside him. "You alright Hayato?" Looking at the part-Italian's face, Yamamoto noticed lines of pain and annoyance.

"'m fine for now, I guess. Feels like my strength is being sucked away by this poison. I thought it was only supposed to make me say crazy crap," Gokudera's eyes were half way closed and his face was still flushed with fever. Despite it all though, Yamamoto nearly laughed at the gleam in the green eyes. Apparently, no amount of drugs could completely take away the hint of mental walls that the Guardian constantly upheld.

_'There is only one thing in the entire universe that can totally get past those walls, and right now that person is driving himself to his death with everything that has been going on recently.' _ Takeshi's thoughts were paused as Gokudera began the slow process of standing up. Quickly, Yamamoto moved to assist his friend, but the help was pushed away with a sneer.

"Aho. I can go take a piss on my own. I don't need your freakishly silent self following me around everywhere. Just because Reborn-san always used to call you a natural assassin doesn't mean you have ta act like one every where you go. Relaxing around your family is natural, you know." The grumbling continued and was muted by the closed door of the small bathroom.

Takeshi could not help the amused smile that found it's way to his face. He could still hear bits and pieces of his friend's comments and snickered at the words. "Maa, maa Hayato, there is no need for that sort of language. Now hurry up and get back out here before you accidentally drown yourself in the sink." More grumbling from the Storm followed Yamamoto's comment but the Rain thought that he heard some laughter mixed in with the usual curses.

When Gokudera was finally out of the bathroom, a knock on the room's door made both Guardians pause in their conversation. Yamamoto's hand casually drifted to the sword at his side and one of Gokudera's rings was blazing with a red flame. "Tsuna? Is that you? I thought you were not coming down here until Gokudera was over his uh... condition." The three of them had decided that, in order to conserve what was left of Gokudera's private life and personal dignity, Tsuna would devote his being into finding the spy in the family.

There was a pause on the other side of the door and Takeshi pulled his blade from it's sheath a few centimeters. Gokudera began to move towards the door but was stopped by Yamamoto's arm placed stiffly in front of the Storm's chest. A confused look shot from the green glazed-over eyes towards Takeshi's dark ones. The Rain flinched at the look and forced a smile as he took a few strides forward. Once in front of the door, Yamamoto silently twisted the knob and sent a look back to his friend that suggested silence and alertness. After peering through the crack of the door briefly, the tense gaze smoothly fell and was replaced with a humored expression. "Oi, you have a visitor Gokudera." Yamamoto returned his blade back into its sheath and opened the door fully, revealing an annoyed looking Bianchi.

Gokudera faltered at the arrival of his older sister and moaned as he hunched over in pain. A scowl was plastered on his face as the Storm Guardian pulled his head up and forced out between clenched teeth, "Woman! Can't you remember to wear the goggles, or at least give me some kind of warning before you show up..." the raging man was paused in his rant when the woman in question took three strides into the room and stopped in front of her brother.

"Hayato, we don't have time for your childish antics. Tsuna sent me here to get you. He has a good idea who the traitor in the family is, but there is also word that your location has been compromised as well." Bianchi's words flowed from her mouth, any annoyance in her voice was obviously not directed at the Storm. As she spoke, her hands quickly moved to push the goggles around her neck up around her face. When Gokudera was able to stand with a reasonable amount of security, he looked with a glazed over seriousness at his sibling.

The group of three made their cautious way down the hall and towards Tsuna's private office. Silence covered them except for the occasional muttered remark from the resident Storm Guardian as he commented on various thoughts that happened into his mind. Yamamoto felt himself smirk whenever Bianchi would scoff or mutter a reply at one of her brother's more comical remarks. By the time the group made it to the elevator the two lucid members were trying to keep their laughter controlled enough so that it could be covered up by a forced cough. Unable to help himself any longer, Yamamoto let a chuckle slip.

"Maa, Hayato, as much as I have enjoyed hearing about the many uses of papier-mâché in the context of the supernatural spectrum I am going to take the stairs and make sure that we will have no unwelcome guests waiting for us in the above floors," Takeshi's signature smile filled his pause before he addressed Bianchi, "I'm sure you can handle...this on your own for a few minutes," the Rain made a vague motion with his hand in the area Gokudera was standing in.

"Not to worry, I have been taking care of my foolish little brother long enough to accept whatever he has to offer. I even brought a snack for him to have while we head to the Boss's room." As she finished speaking, the pink headed woman reached into her side-bag and pulled from it a rather large piece of cake covered up in clear plastic-wrap. She hooked an arm around the astonished looking Storm and pulled the man closer to her, "Hayato, this was made especially for you during this trial of your life. I added a special ingredient to it that will get that treacherous poison out of your body quickly. Please eat it all right now while I'm watching, so I can be sure of your safety..." Bianchi's voice never moved from her totally serious tone of voice and somehow the cake was suddenly unwrapped and sitting on a plate, fork awaiting its master's hand.

"What the- Woman! Do you want to kill me right here? This must be proof that you are the spy in the Family, trying to finish me off right here and now. I'm on to you, and don't think for a second that you will be getting anywhere near Juudaime any time soon. Yakyuu-baka, take this annoying woman with you, I can ride the blasted elevator on my own," Gokudera's voice seemed to be less slurred as he spoke, but he nearly toppled over as he shoved his doting sister away in an attempt to escape the torture that her cooking promised.

"Hai, hai, whatever you say Hayato." Yamamoto laughed as he turned and headed towards the staircase. He waved casually to Bianchi as she pressed the call button for the elevator and allowed himself to laugh more freely at his friend. Shouts and curses from the defiant Storm followed the swordsman and were quickly covered up with seemingly caring remarks from the female Italian.

* * *

><p>The elevator was not empty when it opened in front of Bianchi with a soft 'ding'. Suspicion instantly plastered her face when a man looked up at them with surprise before he smiled. "Signorina Bianchi, Signore Hayato, I was actually coming down here to see you!" The excitement in this man's fluent Italian made Bianchi's eye twitch slightly but she forced her voice to sound as apathetic as possible.<p>

"Hm? And who are you? No one is supposed to know we were down here unless you are a guardian of the Decimo or the Boss himself, and you are neither." Moving ever so slightly in front of her recovering sibling, Bianchi cocked and eyebrow at the man- daring him to challenge her.

"Ah, forgive me, but I just wanted to come and give my thanks to Signore Hayato for saving my life. I was driving the car that he and the Decimo were in earlier today and if it wasn't for their actions I fear my wife would be planning a funeral right now instead of our daughter's birthday celebration." The man said quickly and politely, giving an encouraging smile at the end. He took a step to his right and motioned for Bianchi and Gokudera to join him in the small box. "Please, let's return to the main level. I am to drive the Decimo across town in thirty minutes for a meeting with his father. Something about his father and mother taking a vacation overseas in the coming month. I wanted to come thank you before I had to leave," the man said as an explanation, still waiting for the two to join him and still wearing the overly considerate smile across his face.

Bianchi quickly checked her watch, __'Takeshi is most definitely waiting for us upstairs, and if we don't get a move on, he will leave and head back down here to see what the problem is. I don't trust this guy any more than I want to date him, but if that baseball idiot leaves the elevator entrance we will have one less back up than we should...'__ her thoughts caused her to sigh out loud and grab her listing brother by the wrist. "Right, well please don't take it personally when I say that I really don't care why you came down here, just know that if it happens again you'll be riding the elevator up in a body bag and not with that annoying smirk on your face," the Italian woman growled as she pulled Gokudera into the small box with the starting-to-get-creepy middle aged man.

"Oi, Aneki, watch what you're pulling around. I got shot along with the oh so fun dose of spill your guts serum. This guy was there, he saw it all go down, ne buddy? Then on the way back we had a nice long game of 'listen to Hayato say idiotic things'... this day is just getting better and better." As he continued to let words spew out of his mouth, Bianchi noticed that her little brother was starting to sound more like himself and less like the drugged up man that had appeared in the base a little over an hour ago.

"That's great, Hayato. Because I'm sure everyone wants to know about the many aspects of your crazy brain. You should be apologizing to this driver for having to listen to all the tedious notes and formulas that you have been spouting off..." the woman trailed off in her verbal thoughts as pieces began to fall into place all too quickly. Without hesitation, Bianchi ignited one of her rings and turned, preparing to release a few of her scorpions. As she faced the driver, and newly discovered traitor, surprise took over her features.

On the other side of the small elevator, the Storm Guardian of the Vongola had activated his skull arm gun and had it pointed with a steady arm at the man in question. When he spoke, Gokudera sounded as lucid and sure of himself than he ever had, "As a Guardian of the Tenth Generation Vongola, I am going to request that you remove your hands from your pockets. Be aware, I have no qualms with blasting you away right here if you make a move that could be seen as a threat." Keeping a close eye on his now captive, Gokudera touched the communicator in his ear. Turning the device on connected him to Tsuna's device, and after touching another switch on the piece, it connected to Yamamoto's earpiece as well. "Juudaime, Yakyuu-baka, Aneki and I are bringing a suspicious man to be questioned about today's events."

Bianchi physically relaxed and moved to place a heavy hand on the man's shoulder, her right eye twitching full-force from the collective stress of the day. "You know, it really is not a good life choice to cross these guys," the woman leaned over and muttered into the man's ear, her grip on the shoulder tightening.

The forced smile on the man's face slowly shifted into a grimace, and finally into a scowl. The man turned to face the other two in the space, and directed his glare at Bianchi. As he opened his mouth to say something, Gokudera quickly spoke first, "I suggest you shut your trap, Signore, because that is my sister you are about to talk to, and I am very much looking for a reason to take out some frustration right now." After a beat of stillness, the man shut his mouth with a snarl and slowly took his hands from his jacket pockets. Smirking, Bianchi leaned over and pressed another button on the elevator wall.

A minute later, the silver doors slid open to reveal the expectant swordsman and Rain Guardian leaning against the hall wall looking as casual as ever, save for the murderous glare in the dark eyes aimed at the man responsible for his friend's pain.

Twenty minutes later, Tsuna closed the door of one of their interrogation rooms containing the confessed spy for the Corvello Family that had acted as a Vongola driver for the past six months. The Decimo ran a hand through his brown hair and closed his eyes for a second, letting the harsh mask of Mafia Boss slip away and allowing the more natural concerned friend persona take back over. Tsuna had sent Gokudera away to his room to recover more fully, and assigned Yamamoto to stay with the bomber until the poison was completely gone. The moment of stillness was broken, however, as Tsuna's ear-comm beeped and Hibari's voice suddenly sounded in the Sky's head. Tsuna replied quickly then turned the device off, took a deep breath and straightened his suit, then headed to his office to meet with his Cloud. The final preparations for a very unfortunate plan were to be delivered within the next twenty-four hours, and the Decimo had a few more arrangements to make.

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks for reading! I know that this chapter didn't have much over-all plot material, but everything is necessary to show the stress the Tsuna and the Vongola as a whole are going through. Also- I am working on a one-shot based off **Reidluver**'s KHR fic called "It's a Mafia Life", so go check out that story and get excited about a Gokudera POV of it coming soon! (I just love me some Gokudera angst. His depression and _desperation_-see what I did there?- is pretty much cannon, and it is oh-so-fun to elaborate on that ^^) Once again, I apologize for this being so late. I should be able to get up a few more chapters before I head back to school at the end of January. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it was really encouraging to hear from you guys!


End file.
